Archive for 2016

One of the most common fears among adults who were abused as a child is the fear of being an abusive parent themselves. They have heard it said time and again that children who were abused often grow up to be abusers themselves, and though it would be misleading to say this never happens, it doesn’t need to be the case and often isn’t true at all. If you were among the tens of thousands of young adults who was abused, physically, emotionally or even sexually as a child, here is some information that might interest you. Before writing off having kids of your own, know this.

Not All Abused Children Grow Up to Be Abusers

Oddly, whenever a story surfaces about a child who has been abused, the first thing people say is that the offending adult must have been abused as a child. Sometimes this is the case but not always. According to cureviolence.org, their research indicates that approximately 1/3 of those who were abused as a child will carry on the tendency based on their personal history. This means that 2/3 of abused children grow up to be a perfectly ‘normal’ parent with no tendencies towards abuse as an adult. However, how can you know which group you fall within until you have children? Is it safe to become a parent now knowing?

The Best Place to Find Your Answers

There are people who specialize in counseling adults who were abused as a child, and although you might simply consult with a psychologist, social worker or even a psychiatrist, there is someone who might even be better suited to finding the answers you seek. Believe it or not, a counselor with a masters criminal justice dual major who is now working as a criminologist would probably be your best bet. The reason for this is because they are not only trained in psychology but are also expert in criminology, or in plain English, the study of the criminal mind. And, yes, child abuse is a crime and it takes a criminal mind to perpetrate horrors such as child abuse.

Why a Major in Criminal Justice?

You may be confused because most of us equate a degree in criminal justice with the legal system. We think of a criminal justice masters program from top ranked schools like Boston University Metropolitan College as preparing students to rise within the ranks of police departments or within the legal profession, but many psych undergrads go on to major in criminal justice to offer a better foundation in criminal psychology. Many counselors see the need to study how the criminal mind works, patterns of behavior, social causes and societal demographics that lead to being an abuser. These are the counselors, often within the legal system, who deal with the abusers themselves as they re-enter society after incarceration, as well as counseling the victims of abuse.

Because they are trained to spot those triggers more keenly than a counselor with a general psych degree, they would be best equipped to help you determine if you are prone to being an abuser and if so, how to get the treatment and therapy necessary so that the pattern stops here and now in your generation.

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Justin Harris sentenced to life for son’s death

A judge has sentenced suburban Atlanta father Justin Ross Harris to life in prison without parole for the murder of his 22-month-old son, Cooper, who died in 2014 after Harris left him in a hot car for seven hours while he went to work. READ MORE HERE

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CLEVELAND, Ohio – A Lorain man authorities called a “serial abductor” was arrested in the kidnapping of a 6-year-old Cleveland girl and the attempted abduction of a 10-year-old Elyria girl, the FBI said. Justin Christian, 29, was arrested late Friday and is being held in the Cuyahoga County Jail on charges of kidnapping and rape. Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy J. McGinty said they will present the case to a county grand jury. The arrest was announced Monday at a press conference held with federal, state and local law enforcement officials. Cleveland Police Chief Calvin Williams called Christian “a monster” and Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine called Christian a serial abductor. READ MORE HERE

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Minneapolis woman hung child, struck 2 with minivan

A Minneapolis in-home day care provider was charged Tuesday with attempted murder for allegedly hanging a toddler from her basement ceiling last week. Nataliia Karia, 42, was also charged with one count of assault for other injuries to the 16-month-old boy, and two counts of criminal vehicular operation for hitting a pedestrian and a bicyclist with her minivan as she drove away from the scene, according to the criminal complaint. Karia remains hospitalized at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis. Prosecutors plan to seek bail of $2 million. READ MORE HERE

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A woman who was raped by her stepdad as a child saw him jailed 26-years later after she forced him to confess on his doorstep. The brave victim – now 40 and a mother of two – confronted Jeff Aitken, 60, over his vile sex abuse in a showdown at his home in Stevenston, Ayrshire. A police investigation followed, and after his conviction she said: “He can rot. It shows you never give up on justice. He destroyed my childhood, teenage years and adulthood.” But in a message of hope to other victims of historic abuse, she added: “Don’t give up hope. It’s hard but never give up.” READ MORE HERE

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The law would have deferred sentencing for men who have married girls under age 18, which opponents say would essentially legalize child rape.

TURKEY – Turkish leaders plan to rework a bill some say would have legalized child rape, as long as the attacker married the victim, after it sparked protests across the country last week. Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirimsent on Tuesday sent the bill, which would have applied to at least 3,000 men currently in prison, back to be changed by a parliament subcommittee after people in Turkey and around the world said the law appeared to consider child rape permissible. The ruling party in Turkey, the Justice and Development Party, also known as AK Party, brought the bill to the floor of the Turkish parliament amid opposition from some in the legislative body and several women’s rights groups. The bill is aimed at reducing the number of husbands sent to jail — leaving wives and children alone — by deferring sentencing for men who marry girls under age 18. READ MORE HERE

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The former X Factor star, now singer, broke down as she revealed she was just eight years old when she was assaulted in a children’s home. When Rebecca Ferguson was asked for her thoughts on former contestants revealing child sexual abuse, she broke down and made the heartbreaking admission. Trying to hold back tears, Rebecca said: “I was abused when I was in a children’s home, I was eight years old. I’ve never spoken about it. You feel dirty like you’ve done something wrong.” READ MORE HERE

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A 56-year-old grandmother has been charged with child abuse after a 6-month-old baby suffered a brain injury. Rebecca Laca is charged with child abuse resulting in serious bodily injury, a felony, according to the Denver district attorney’s office. READ MORE HERE

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A Healdsburg father has been arrested in connection with the death of his 4-year-old daughter, authorities said Monday. Gerardo Mendoza Ordaz, 42, of Healdsburg, was taken into custody and was being held Monday on suspicion of homicide. Police said they believe the father intentionally drowned the girl in a baptismal pool at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, located in the 200 block of Matheson Street in Healdsburg. READ MORE HERE

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MASON, Michigan — A former USA Gymnastics team doctor was charged Monday with first-degree criminal sexual conduct in Michigan involving a child under 13. Three charges were filed against Dr. Larry Nassar of Holt, Michigan, according to online court records in Ingham County. The alleged incidents occurred in 1998. The records don’t indicate whether the charges involve one victim or more. Nassar was arrested and lodged in the county jail. READ MORE HERE

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A woman who was sexually abused by her parents as a child has confronted them two decades later, after their release from prison. The depraved couple, named only as Jim and Justine, were convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison each in 1996 for the incestuous attacks on their teenage daughter Amanda, which lasted for around three years. In a harrowing episode of Dr Phil, the victim, now in her 30s, confronted her biological parents, revealing how their abuse wrecked her life. READ MORE HERE

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The young boy who died while in the care of a foster home agency had at least four drugs in his system, including heroin and diazepam, as well as burns and bruised on his body, child protection sources have revealed. The five-year-old, who suffered from epilepsy and hepatitis C, died in 2015 in a Uniting Care run foster home in Pennant Hills, north west Sydney – the same agency who ran the home where Girl X infamously died of a drug overdose in 2014. READ MORE HERE

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Former Detroit City Council President & TV Anchor Sentenced for Child Molestation

DETROIT – Former Detroit City Council president Charles Pugh learned how much time he faces in prison on Wednesday. Pugh pleaded guilty this past month to third-degree criminal sexual conduct. According to the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office, the former Detroit leader engaged in sexually inappropriate behavior with a 14-year-old boy in 2003 when Pugh was a reporter and anchor at WJBK-TV. Pugh was sentenced Wednesday to 5 1/2 to 15 years in prison. He must also register as a sex offender. READ MORE HERE

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A young child clings to life after a horrific case of child abuse in Wentzville, Missouri. This is likely one of the worst cases of infant abuse that police in Wentzville have ever dealt with. It all began Thursday with a six-week-old doing what babies do, cry. Police say the infant’s father, Robert Burnette, couldn’t deal with the crying so he shoved his fingers down the baby’s tiny throat. He was trying to reach the boy’s larynx to stop the crying. Investigators say they got these details from the child’s mother, Megan Hendricks, who investigators say stood by and watched and made no attempt to stop the abuse. READ MORE HERE

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Law enforcement officials in East Texas are reporting the alleged murderer of 10-year-old Kayla Gomez-Orozco is a previously deported illegal alien from Mexico. Officials with the Smith County jail confirmed to Breitbart Texas that Gustavo Gonzalez, 24, is currently being held in the jail on an immigration detainer from Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. Gonzalez was also confirmed to be a Mexican national by the jail official. READ MORE HERE

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A 40-year-old Campton Hills man has been charged with raping a girl younger than 13 over a three-year span. Donald R. Lumbert, of the 4N700 block of Brookside Drive, faces five counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child younger than 13 and four counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, according to Kane County court records. READ MORE HERE

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DAYTON, Ohio – A Dayton man is in custody after members of multiple law enforcement jurisdictions arrest him for charges related to child rape. Robert Taylor, 53, is accused of raping a child under the age of 13 “over the course of several years,” according to a press release from the U.S. Marshals. READ MORE HERE

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FARGO, North Dakota– A man is charged in Cass County Court after court documents say he admitted to shaking an infant. Reese Andrew Young is charged with one count of child abuse and one count of aggravated assault/domestic violence. Court documents say the charges stem from Young grabbing a two-month-old by the ribs and shaking him, causing a brain bleed and extreme pain. READ MORE HERE

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FERRARI PRESS AGENCY…A DEPRAVED ex-pat Brit who travelled hundreds of miles to the UK from his home in The Provence in the sick hope of sexually abusing twin girls aged eight has been jailed for four-and-a-half years.

Married 52-year-old Richard Chapman was caught in a police sting. SEE FERRARI COPY

A depraved ex-pat Brit who traveled hundreds of miles to the UK from his home in The Provence in the sick hope of sexually abusing twin girls aged eight has been jailed for four-and-a-half years. Married 52-year-old Richard Chapman was caught in a police sting. He engaged in online communications with a female officer in the false belief she was the youngsters’ mother and told her they were the “perfect age” for his sordid plan. READ MORE HERE

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ROTHERHAM – Eight men who sexually abused three teenage girls in Rotherham between 1999 and 2003 have been jailed. The men are Sageer Hussain, Ishtiaq Khaliq, Waleed Ali, Masoued Malik, Asif Ali, Naeem Rafiq, Basharat Hussain and Mohammed Whied. They were jailed at Sheffield Crown Court, having been convicted of a total of 16 charges after a trial. The judge said their victims had been “targeted, sexualised and subjected to degrading and violent acts.” READ MORE HERE